Hazardous and Solid Waste Regulations have greatly reduced the amount of wastes a small business can generate. The federal regulatory bodies governing the management of hazardous waste define hazardous waste as any solid waste which has the potential to harm human life or the environment. Under the passage of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, Small Quantity Generators, defined as those generating less than 1,000 kg per month of hazardous waste were provided an exemption from many of the requirements, but did have to go through the waste determination step and did have to dispose of their waste in an approved manner and/or at an approved site, including licensed municipal solid waste disposal facilities. The Hazardous and Solid Waste Amendments of 1984 have significantly changed this system by defining the SQG as one generating 100 kg (approximately 220 lbs or 27.5 gallons) per month. These changes have resulted in greatly increasing the number of regulated generators and the number of regulated wastes as well as increasing the pressure on local bodies to ensure that hazardous waste is not being introduced into the municipal waste stream.
Among the many Small Quantity Generators effected by these regulations are automobile service centers, such as gasoline service stations and radiator repair shops. Numerous contaminants are generated by these servicers in every day operations, such as the cleaning and repairing of engine parts. Included among these contaminants are solvents, road grime, used oil, organic compositions, such as antifreeze, and a wide variety of metals including significant quantities of copper, zinc and lead. In the past, such wastes have been disposed in municipal sewage systems, septic tanks and underground storage tanks. Each of these methods is costly in that special disposal is necessary and that such systems have high water requirements. The present invention is designed to treat all of these residues in a simple and efficient process.
It is expected that as concerns over the environment mount, and the diminishing quality of our water and the depletion of our landfills continues, further regulations will be enacted to lessen the amount of solids and hazardous wastes dispersed to the environment. Although there exists a number of methods for treating waste waters, none of these processes have been directed for the use of small generators of waste to treat waste waters produced in their stations and shops.